Enough
by ScarletttheLazyWriter
Summary: Another freaking one-shot. Geez, how many until I get tired of 'em? When the mayor goes missing for a few days, Isabelle discovers the truth- that her world is only one of many and that those of the mayor's race are able to go to these other worlds at will. Has the mayor abandoned Isabelle and the town for another world?


**AN: welp, I've been tumbling down Tumblr again. This one-shot was based on this particular post post/64847436695/like-a-lot-of-people-ive-sort-of-left-my-mayoral** **go look at that before you read this. It won't take long. Thank you, Superlark, for unknowingly inspiring me.**

"I'm telling you, it's the end for me! It's all over! Sayonara, goodbye. It's—"

"Shizue, calm down."

"I _can't! _I don't know what to do!"

Isabelle sighed, trying her best to sympathize with her double. This particular version of Isabelle, Shizue, was new to the game and had only recently discovered that the worlds, each and every one of them, were linked. Ever since, she had been calling another country's version of herself, Isabelle, to update, chat, complain, and, more often than not, vent her worries. It had been six weeks since Shizue had last seen her mayor, but this was nothing unusual to the veteran secretaries. Some of their mayors would leave on a regular basis. Some hardly showed up at all. It was all just how their multi-world worked, and Isabelle had come to accept this. Then again, she was the proud secretary of a rare breed of mayor—one who never left her side. She had been told stories, mostly from those friends across the ocean, of towns abandoned by their leaders, the secretaries having to take on the full responsibilities for the towns and their residents. She counted herself blessed that she would never have to face such a fate. Shizue wasn't so sure of her future, but Isabelle had faith in mayor Aika. More often than not, boredom would set in and the mayors would come back, happy to build new projects and pull up the weeds that had sprouted in their absence.

"Just do what you've done so far—care for the town as much as you can."

"But I _hate _it here! It's dirty and creepy. The villagers keep telling me that they see other mayors in their dreams. One has been complaining about nightmares. Isabelle, I don't think I can take this."

Shizue's complaints were starting to grate on Isabelle's nerves. Both dogs knew very well that there was no way to leave their towns, no matter how awful. Their only means of escape and relief would be total deletion, and that was out of their jurisdiction. _To long for such a thing. . .mayor Chris, if you only knew how happy it makes me to see your face each day. To know that I will never want to be deleted._ And so, with fate thoroughly tempted, Isabelle gave up trying to sooth her friend and decided to inquire about the nightmares.

"Okay, so, there's this doll. . ."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

The next day came, as tomorrows tend to do, and Isabelle was awake and ready to go. _Coffee. Check. Coat. Check. Shoes. Um. . . _she opened a drawer and took out her plain footwear. _Check. _Everything was in order. She was ready to run after her mayor as he chose a spot for the town's next public works project. He usually arrived around noon, so she had time to wait.

And wait she did.

Noon came. Then another noon came. Two more. By the fifth noon, Isabelle had begun to worry. It was she who called Shizue this time.

"See what I mean? It starts with one day, and the next thing you know, they never come back. Gone forever."

"But, Shizue, just because it's been. . .longer than we would like doesn't mean that they won't ever come back. I have to have more confidence in Chris than that."

"Mayor Chris, you mean."

"Right."

"You're getting too close, Isabelle. I did the same thing with Aika, and now look at me." Isabelle heard what sounded like soft sobs on the other end of the line.

"Hang in there, buddy. We'll be fine, okay? They're gonna come back. I just know it."

"Melinda said the same thing right before her town was wiped out."

Isabelle cringed. One of the ex-villagers of a town called Winzer had narrowly escaped. Word spread pretty quickly. Thankfully, most apocalypses were quiet, but the news had hit everyone pretty hard. _Chris wouldn't. . .would he?_

"You said that the villagers keep having dreams of visitors, correct? That means your town is most likely popular. I highly doubt you'll be ended." There was a pause.

"I wish. . .I wish I would be."

_click._

The sound of dial tone rang through Isabelle's ears. She pitied her friend, now more than ever. _How could anyone sink so low? _She looked at her calendar, hoping for her sanity's sake that she wouldn't have to mark out another day that the mayor hadn't appeared. _What if the same thing happens to me?_

"Why would they do it, Tom?"

the busy raccoon had been kind enough to have a coffee break with the worried secretary, something he did often with the equally busy Sabel. Very often.

"You are aware of the other worlds, hm?"

"Other worlds?"

"Yes, yes." He sipped lightly at the piping hot beverage in his paws. "Do go by T&T Mart sometime. Try a fortune cookie or two. You will find that they contain objects reminiscent of these other worlds, yes."

"That's all good and fine, but what does this have to do with Chr— the mayor's disappearance?"

Tom's drooped eyes stared into his cup, as if staring off into these worlds that he was talking about. "Our mayor is of a different race, you are aware, hm? They are able to jump into these worlds, yes. Very fascinating. They lose themselves there. They have grand adventures. Quite grand. One would hardly want to keep themselves in one world with so many others to explore, hm?"

This new information was hard for Isabelle to process, but she tried to wrap her head around it.

"I just. . .I don't understand."

"It is not a problem nor issue we face, no. It is something that only their race understands."

Isabelle pushed her cup away, not wanting to taste anything. She had always thought that she and Chris were an inseparable team. That this town meant more to him than anything. She hated being wrong. To learn that she was a mere drop in some vast, unseen ocean was more than she could bear. She sniffed and rubbed her eyes with the back of a paw.

"Thanks, Tom."

"Happy to help."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

As the sun began to set on another day, Isabelle decided that she didn't want to be at her desk anymore. She locked town hall and headed for the beach to watch the day end. Her heart and mind were heavy. She pondered what Tom had told her the day before. _I wonder how far apart these worlds are. What lies beyond that ocean? If I were to swim across it, would I find the mayor? _She shook her head. It was time to stop thinking of him now. It was time to plan for the future. _I'll keep it a secret from the residents for now. Best not to worry them. Then, I'll set up a de-weeding service with Leif. Then, I'll_

_. . .I'll. . . _she stopped thinking then. She didn't want to anymore. She kept her thoughts to a minimum as she headed for the sandy shores of the beach. She watched her feet move forward, one in front of the other. A single line of tracks being left as each foot left a small impression on the ground; however, upon reaching the beach, the single line gradually became two, one of which wasn't hers. She payed it little attention. That is, until she bumped into the one who had been leaving the tracks.

"S-sorry! I—" She looked up and, for a moment, wondered if she had fallen asleep at her desk and was experiencing a very realistic dream.

"Mayor!"

"Hello, Isabelle."

for a few moments, Isabelle could say nothing. She had a million and two questions that she wanted to ask him, but she settled on just one.

"Where have you been? It's. . .been awhile." Despite the whirlwind of emotions currently spinning inside her, Isabelle managed to keep her voice calm.

"I've been busy helping my family move. I didn't have time to play."

"Play?"

"Nevermind. Nothing you need to worry about. The point is, I had both hands full. Mostly with boxes." He smiled. "I missed you, Isabelle. I missed this town. I wish that I could've made time for the both of you, but, well, my parents consider moving to be more important than my mayoral duties."

This confused Isabelle. _I thought you lived alone. Your parents just send you letters, don't they? _Then again, with the revelation that Tom Nook had given her, she was wondering if that was entirely accurate. Perhaps it was another one of those things only the mayor and his kind understood.

"Sit with me. Heck, I kind of owe you some of my time, don't I?"

And so she did. They sat in silence for some time until the question that had been buzzing in Isabelle's brain couldn't wait to be let out any longer.

"Mayor."

"Yes?"

"Tom Nook told me. . .that there are other worlds out there."

"Other worlds?"

"Yeah. Other places that, well, people like you can go to. Places full of adventure and stuff. Places I can't go."

He looked as though he was analyzing her question, then a look of realization crossed his face. "Oh, yes. 'Other worlds.' Yeah, it's true. They're out there. Lots of people like me enjoy them. Some even collect them. Some go as far as to make them their entire life. I can't really blame them, though. They're fun, or so I've heard."

"Or so you've heard?"

He rested his chin on his knees, his eyes calm. "You see, the reason I'm able to spend so much time here is because. . .well, I can't go to those other worlds like they can."

"What do you mean? Is it hard to travel?"

"Heh. Something like that. See, things work different in my world. Not everyone goes by the same rules like they do here. Some follow stricter ones than others. I just so happen to be one of those people."

"I don't see why that would keep you from just visiting."

"It would be a bit complicated to explain to you. It's nothing for you to worry about."

_But I _do _worry. _

"Do you ever wish that you could be a part of those worlds, mayor?"

"Sometimes."

Perhaps he felt that he was obligated to run the town. Maybe he felt like it was too great a responsibility to ignore. _Are we keeping you from those worlds, Chris?_ She hated what she was about to say, but she felt that she needed to say it for his sake.

"Mayor. . .if you want to go to those worlds, don't feel like you need to stay here."

he looked at her. It was his turn to be confused.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, don't hold yourself back from what you want just for our sake. If you want to go have adventures, you go have them. I'll hold down the fort until you come back. . .if you ever do."

He blinked, then laughed quietly.

"What's so funny?"

"It's just. . .you think you're holding me back? Isabelle, you and this town _are _my adventure! I don't need those other worlds like others feel they do. Maybe it's just because I was taught not to go near them, but I have no desire to leave you or the people of this town." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "This is the only 'world' I need. Sure, it may not be much, but it's enough for _me_. I don't need to be a great master or even a hero through time. Sure, I was bitter at one point that I couldn't be, but I'm passed it. I moved passed it once I moved here and became your mayor. I know that I won;t be able to spend all my time here someday, but for now, I want to make the most of the time I _do _have. I want to make as many memories as possible. I know you'll help me do that."

yet again, Isabelle was dumbstruck. She let his words play slowly in her mind, and she absorbed every one. She and the town were not just a drop in the ocean. They were the ocean itself. What was more, Chris said that he wanted to swim in it for as long as possible. A wide grin broke out across Isabelle's face, the happiness pouring out and bubbling over like a tide, sweeping away the sadness and gloom of the past few days.

"It's good to have you back, Chris."

"I'm happy to be back."

She didn't know how long it would last, but she didn't have to. He was back here and now. He planned on being here for quite some time. He _wanted _to be here.

This was enough.


End file.
